


Not Just a Thief

by brohne



Series: The Corsair and the Corsetteer [6]
Category: Thief - Fandom
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 18:22:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1657997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brohne/pseuds/brohne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>It's not just what I do, it's who I am.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Just a Thief

Garrett hissed as the rope slid through his hands. He grabbed it again before the box he was hauling up could plummet too far. It was the last item he’d planned on bring up to the top of the clock tower that night. Maybe he shouldn’t have used a brand new rope. It was stiff and his hands were still tender even if they were healed now. The box finally appeared at the window and he tied the length of rope off and went to swing it inside the tower. Glancing outside he noticed the slightest tinge of grey on the horizon. Was it really that late? Unhooking the box he set it down. He turned to look at the interior of the clock tower. It was still a shambles but at least the worst of it was cleared out. He was glad they hadn’t damaged any of the gears or other parts of the clock itself. That would have taken a lot longer to fix.

He glanced down realizing his hands were throbbing again. The blood startled him his chest tightening painfully as memory assailed him. He clenched his fists as much to remind himself that he could as to block the sight of the blood. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He needed to get cleaned up and eat some dinner. First he should probably take care of his hands.

He’d just finished bandaging his hand when he heard something that wasn’t one of the birds.

“Ow, shit! What the hell was that doing there?”

Garrett set the arrow back down at the sound of Adrian’s voice. A moment later Adrian swung a leg over the window sill the rest of his large frame following suit.

“It’s too early in the morning for this.”

“Then why do you bother?” Garrett looked at him wondering if he’d get an actual answer. Adrian’s habit of coming to check on him was annoying.

“Well it’s definitely not for the scintillating conversation.” Adrian rubbed the side of his head and glanced back out the window. “Why did you leave the pulley out?”

“Why don’t you look up when you are climbing?”

“I did! Hey…what happened?”

Before Garrett could answer Adrian was striding over, impossibly fast with those long legs. Garrett stepped back automatically on the defensive before he’d even realized what he was doing. Adrian stopped dead the look in his eyes pained. He held up his hands.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you like that. You can put down the arrow.”

Garrett frowned at him and looked down at the arrow in his hand. He set it back on the bench as he tried to figure out what the sudden heat on his face meant. He knew—knew—he could trust Adrian yet…it was so difficult to overcome so many years’ worth of distrusting everyone.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Garrett glanced up to see Adrian peering down at him. Garrett nodded. “I’m fine.”

“What happened to your hands?”

Garrett held them up. “I guess after not using them for a while they weren’t as callused. It’s just rope burn.”

He avoided looking at Adrian as he started clearing off the workbench. He flinched in spite of himself when Adrian touched his shoulder.

“Let me look at them.” There was almost a pleading note to Adrian’s voice and Garrett bit back a sigh. He’d never hear the end of it if he didn’t at least allow him to see that he was fine.

He started unwrapping the cloth. Large hands enveloped his own and he tensed as Adrian began taking the bandages off. Adrian made a disgruntled noise as he inspected the lacerations.

“Why don’t you just use your primal stuff to heal it?”

Garrett pulled back but Adrian didn’t let go. “It doesn’t really work that way.”

“Who says?”

“What happened before was…different it was concentrated. I can’t do that by myself.”

“Oh. Damn.”

Garrett tried again to remove his hands from Adrian’s.

“No just hold still and don’t look at me like that. I’ve got some salve that will help.” Adrian finally let go and felt around in his pockets. “I was supposed to give this to Basso but I’ll get another from August.”

He took out the small round tin. The smell was potent enough to make Garrett’s eyes water.

“Does the smell wear off?”

“Oh yeah, by the time you wake up it should be gone.”

Garrett managed to keep himself from yanking his arm away as Adrian took his wrist in hand. He took a breath tensing as Adrian’s fingers brushed his palm. Adrian’s grip on his wrist loosened and he realized that Adrian was allowing him the chance to pull away if he wanted to. Just knowing he could was enough to sooth the tension in his muscles. Adrian seemed very intent on his hands using light but quick movements to spread the salve. It stung for a moment before becoming numb. He didn’t care for that but it was better than the pain. A soft warmth settled in his chest as he watched Adrian carefully rewrap each hand. Once they were both bandaged Adrian wiped his fingers on a nearby rag and put the tin on the workbench.

“Go ahead and keep it.”

Garrett nodded and stifled a yawn. He rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes.

“Why don’t you go to bed? You look beat.”

“I was just going to finish putting this stuff away-“

“I’ll get it you go get some sleep.”

At first Garrett was going to argue but the stubborn set of Adrian’s jaw told him it would be a lost cause. He was learning when to choose his battles with the pirate. He was nearly asleep when he heard the footsteps. He knew the tread and didn’t bother opening his eyes. The blanket was drawn up higher and there was a brush of fingertips across the back of his hand. He wondered when he’d become used to Adrian’s constant need to touch. It was as if the man had to reaffirm his physical presence every little bit. He supposed after what happened to them he could understand it a little. He often caught himself watching Adrian and wondering what the man was thinking. For someone who seemed so open on the surface Garrett had quickly learned there was depth to him that was rather astonishing. He was not just a pirate, just like Garrett himself was not just a thief.

Not anymore.


End file.
